Ned's Declassified ReEdited
by victoriarogue
Summary: Ned, Cookie and Moze try to help some kids very dear to them survive high school without failing to graduate. But who are these kids and why are they so close? Find out; you might be surprised.
1. First Day: Meet the Kids

All right, I'm not going to lie to any of you readers out there.

Some of you might be happy, some of you might get mad, some of you might get pissed, but I thought I'd take a spin at this Declassified business.

If you don't like this story, that's okay with me. I won't be mad at you. However, I think one comment will be enough to continue the story; if I don't get one, that's fine too. I wasn't expecting this one to be successful. I just thought it would be interesting if the "guide" was improved.

* * *

_Yo, name's Neilius Bigby. I'm Ned Bigby's kid. You might know my dad if he gave you some helpful tips on how to "survive" middle school without getting into so much trouble where you don't graduate, or you might know him just because he's a lovable kind of guy. Well, that's how he is, understanding. I hope to be the same through the gene pool, but he likes to make the emphasis that we're almost nothing alike. Actually, we are a lot alike and I'm not afraid to say it; in fact, the only differences we have is eye color and growth from puberty. For instance, my hair ended up being longer and the facial hair kind of came a wee bit early for me. Also, when I was in middle school, I ended up being five inches taller than my dad when he was in middle school - call it a "breakthrough" in the gene pool - and I have a thing for weight training. My dad recommended me to his middle school coach, Ms. Dirga, and I've been her favorite ever since I started. She's not my only mentor, though. After her leg got busted up from one of her kids dropping a barbell on her calf, she's recommended me to her brother and he recommended me to others, so now I have the physique I want and I aims to keep it that way._

_While my dad's busy getting ready for our morning jog, I'll be here cooking some stuff up because a good breakfast prevents unattractive mood swings, keeps you energized and helps you think clearly along with the exercise - something simple is always good - like a little walking or stretching to loosen up. _**- BANG! -**

"NEIL!"

_But not so much at such little timing 'cause sometimes hypertension, sprains or even cramps could occur right in the midst of you working out._

"Hang on, dad! I'm comin'!" Neilius calls from downstairs, running to the stairs.

Neilius runs inside of his father's bedroom, finding his squirming parent red in the face from lack of air underneath a barbell. He jumps above his father, swiftly relieves him of the weight on his throat then quickly lifts him onto his messy bed. Ned places his hand on his aching throat, panting heavily and laying his free hand on his son's broad shoulder. He looks up, noting the look of concern on his son's face then relaxes a bit.

"What _lineage_ are you from?" Ned questions, heaving.

"I'm quite sure it's yours, dad," Neilius answers, tapping his father's wrist and moving it off his shoulder. "Why? Are you confessing that I'm an adopted child?"

"No, I just wonder sometimes."

Neilius rolls his eyes then smiles. Ned leans on a pile of worn clothes on his bed then looks at his son's form. His hands were on his hips as he stood before him. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he wore a pair of red shorts and his silver and red running shoes. His muscles were still, nothing was tight and his calves were close to hairless. Coach Dirga told Ned that Neilius would make a great track runner with legs as sturdy and durable, but the boy never got into sports. He just stuck with his academics and hanging out with his friends at the gym or elsewhere. Neilius was Ned's son, though. He did what was for his best interests, but if there was one thing Ned could point that was different from them, it was Neilius' eyes. His eyes were probably the most distinct feature on his face as he looked in them: a shade of light green like his mother.

"You're like someone off a magazine: tall, strong, good-looking, _healthy_," Ned says, adding sarcasm to the last descriptive adjective of his son.

"Dad, you know I wouldn't be any of those things had it not been for you. Your lineage worked hard to produce me, so be proud of it!" Neilius cheered, bouncing some.

Ned looked at his son for a moment then shook his head. Seconds later, he was smiling and chuckling. Neilius saluted his dad then ran downstairs to the kitchen.

"That boy is something else," Ned sighed. "Where _does_ he get it from?"

"Hey, dad, the food's ready so you can eat! I'm gonna wing it then come back to get ready!" Neilius said.

"All right, but you've got half-an-hour! School starts at nine!"

"'Kay, dad! Be back soon!" Neilius shouts, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Simon Nelson-Cook raised quite a son, the opposite of himself almost but the similarities are evident. He's smart like him, ambitious like him, and has a sense of mischief when faced with a challenge. Although he's not as emotional, when he is he's very much Cookie's son. He gets clumsy, behaves and moves around frantically, and will at times overreact to some situations. He often comes up with strange yet interesting plans to solve an issue, and he seeks his best friend's son's help whenever it's a problem he can't handle alone. However, whenever his son is in trouble, he's a different personality compared to him. He gets tough, anticipates a fight and gets ready for it. He'll even keep fighting until his point comes across: don't mess with him and do what's right.

As Cookie washed the used dishes, he decided to take a nice look outdoors when a moving figure came into view. He took a closer look to see Neilius jogging down the sidewalk. If there's girls giggling and making cat calls, that's how you know it's either Neilius or his boy. Cookie smiled at how much Neilius looked like Ned when he was that age then decided to stop washing the dishes. He walked up the stairs to his son's room, knocked on the door and noticed his son labeling his belongings.

"Hey, Joe, I think Neil's taking his jog. Wanna join him before school?"

"Really?" Joe questioned, furrowing his eyebrows then looking out the window. "Yep, that's him. Only crazy fool I know who'd jog without a shirt on."

"You might wanna hurry up if you're going. I'm quite sure he knows his time limits," Cookie hints, arching both eyebrows in an obvious manner. "You know how your godfather is. Gotta be ready for the first day at _all_ times."

Joe chuckles then nods his head. He takes off his red T-shirt, replaces it with a wife beater and searches in his closet for his running shoes. Cookie goes downstairs to flag Neilius down so Joe can catch up then opens the door. Neilius notices the Cooks' house door opening and looks up for a brief moment. He sees his godfather, smiles and waves to him.

"Hey, Neil, wait up! Joe's comin' too!" Cookie says, smiling.

"Right here, dad!" Joe responds, running past his father to run alongside his friend. "Be back after while!"

"See ya, Cookie!" Neilius says, jogging in similar pattern with Joe.

"All right, guys!"

"Simon!" a woman calls.

Cookie goes inside to answer his wife then closes the door behind him. Neilius puts his iPOD inside his shorts pocket while jogging then proceeds to engage in conversation with his friend, Joey Nelson-Cook (a.k.a. "Joe").

"So you ready for junior year? We've only got the next year until graduation and _we are so through, dude_!"

"Amen!" Joe shouts, responding to Neilius' high-five and fist bump. "Think we'll have enough time to pick up Niah?"

"I called her earlier and she said she was on the phone with you. Were you guys talking about me _again_?" Neilius questions, pointing at Joe.

"No," Joe answers, swatting Neilius' hand away. "She was wondering about the schedules this year. All of us are on top with our core classes since we've been planning everything out since freshmen year, but we didn't do electives or P.E. - and you know how we _love_ P.E. - or our community service hours. Plus, we haven't taken any of the entrance exams for college like ACT and SAT and we need to jump on that if we're going to apply for the same college - granted we're accepted."

"I know right," Neilius agrees, looking at Joe then back ahead of him. "Well, once we get the schedules, we'll work on them so we gets _all _the credits to graduate. I _refuse_ to take _another class_ in that _fucking school_!"

"No shit, join the party line."

"Okay!" a girl shouts, scaring Neilius and Joe. "What's the matter? Did the babies get _scurred_?" she teases, pouting her lips in a smirk.

"Shut up, Niah!" Neilius defends, pointing at the girl. "Where's Auntie Moze?"

"About to leave for work at the architecture firm. You know how she is. Hates being late and all," Niah says, leading the jog.

"Sounds a lot like all of us," Joe remarks, keeping pace with Niah. "We hate being late more than anything."

"Yeah, no doubt," Neilius agrees, keeping pace with his friends.

"I see you've been working out more. You got your six pack back, huh, buddy?" Niah questions, looking at Neilius' abs.

"Yep. Took a lot outta me, but I'm back in the game. It feels good, too. After Coach Dorris broke her leg - man! - I just stopped and the weight piled on, even though I ate healthy stuff."

"Hey, we all got fat and lazy, but we're in better spirits," Joe says. "Niah looks better than the Crosgrove sisters, I got rid of my bad habits, and you look cooler."

"What d'ya mean?" Neilius questions, furrowing his eyebrows.

"C'mon! Look at you!" Niah retorts. "Your _hair_ is long and shiny, your _skin_ is darker - it's not that _ew-looking _pale - and it's a beautiful tan complexion, you're not wearing _glasses _anymore and your eyes are a mysterious _light green_. Besides that, you've got the body of an angel if those Belleview High girls aren't living proof with them staring. Why don't you put a shirt on when you're jogging?"

"Finally _someone_ addresses the topic," Joe remarks, turning a corner.

"See! Even Joe thinks it's dangerous," Niah says.

Neilius was about to respond, but a whistle in the distance interrupted him and the group looked in the general direction of the noise. It was a slender, blonde homosexual male with two of his girlfriends. He twiddled his fingers at the three then blew a kiss in their direction. All three of their jaws dropped for a quick second until Joe picked up his running pace.

"Oh, hell to the naw!" he mumbled.

"Joe, wait up!" Niah said, laughing.

"Hey, pretty baby! Where you going?" one of the girls questioned, calling out to Joe. "I like a little dark chocolate with my warm milk," she says, suggestively.

"No, you don't!" he answered, running faster until he was around the corner.

"That's all right! We'll take French vanilla over here with a side of mint," the other girls says, winking at Neilius.

"Start running!" Neilius says.

"Right behind you!" Niah says, following close behind Neilius who's on Joe's heels.


	2. First Day: Preparations

It was a warm September morning. The sky was dotted with white clouds, drifting across its sea, and gulls chattering to one another as they sailed across the sky. The heat of the sun was occassional cooled by the beautiful clouds as small beams of light penetrated the opaque surfaces of them. A light breeze settled the heat with a pleasant temperature for simply standing at the bus stop. Neilius, Joey and Shaniah were waiting for the bus so they could be at school on time and so they could catch up with one of their friends. As they were holding a conversation about the new principal this year, Joey caught sight of a person approaching them in the corner of his eye. It was a boy. He was a little over Shaniah's height, but he was very skinny - not anorexic but slender. His hair was really curly and blonde, his skin was fair and he had a small mole on the corner of his chin. His eyes were a light shade of blue that gave him calm features and his lips were thin as they curved into a smile. Neilius and Shaniah noticed Joey was smiling and waving at someone. They ceased their talk for but a moment then turned to see a familiar face. However, as angelic as this small boy seemed to be, he had a distinct feature that...sort of...distracted the three: his eyebrows.

"Hey, Alexi..." Neilius greeted, staring at Alexi's eyebrows. "How you been lately?"

"Great! I found a summer job at Six Flags, so now I'm workin' there _and_ I get a discount on _all_ the rides and merchandise," Alexi proudly nods, shifting his eyebrows.

"Dude, that's awesome! We should go together some time!" Shaniah encourages, bouncing up and down.

"I know right!" Alexi agrees, bouncing as well. "Oh! By the way, Neil? Did you bring the guide with you?"

"Yep," Neilius answers, digging in his bag for the composition notebook. "A-ha! Found it."

Neilius takes the survival guide out of his bookbag and shows it to his friends, but they look at the shape it's in and furrow their eyebrows. The notebook's cover was beaten and falling off and it's pages were yellowing with food stains covering the bottom. Some of the notes were still intact, but they were almost unreadable. The pen writing was smudging and beginning to fade. Joey tried to hold his laughing in, but he couldn't help but humor the condition the poor guide was in.

"Uh...dude, you _really_ need to throw that thing away," Alexi says, chuckling.

Neilius gasps and leans backwards in shock. He points his finger at Alexi then responds, "Take that back!"

"Neil, baby, I think Alexi has a point and Joe is emphasizing it," Shaniah says, looking at the guide.

"I can't just _throw_ my dad's most sacred book _away_! It's criminal! _And_ it's helped us through almost every situation at school imaginable," Neilius says. "Without this precious writing material, we'd be lost in a sea of nothingness society has so cleverly named school."

"Okay, you can put 'the guide' in the family heirloom treasury, but at least get Uncle Ned to write a cleaned-up version of the damned thing. I mean, Neil," Joey says, looking at him, "it's falling apart."

"Or you can make a new one. Your tips on stuff is a little more up-to-date," Alexi suggests, arching his eyebrows.

"Dude, what did you _do_ to your eyebrows? They look like bar codes you see on cereal boxes," Neilius remarks.

Alexi gasps then feels his thick eyebrows in a panic. The bus drives up to them and stops. The four friends board the vehicle and sit in the third row of empty seats as the bus pulls off. Two girls from the back seats move to the left row of seats behind Neilius and Joey, preparing to ask them a load of questions. The girl closest to the window taps Neilius' shoulder then waits for him to turn around. He does. Joey turns around as well to listen. The girl nearest the window was pretty: blonde hair that reached past the shoulders, fair skin, blue eyes, pink-glossed lips. She adorned quite a few pink accessories, and if nothing else pink must have been her favorite color. Her friend was pretty also: brown curly hair in a bob, fair skin, brown eyes, peach-glossed lips. She had a lot of green and dragonfly accessories, so there's no need to explain her favorite color and insect.

"Hey, what's your name?" the girl nearest to the window asks.

"Bigby," Neilius answers.

"That's a weird name. Is it your last name?" the girl with green dragonfly accessories asks, turning to Joey.

"Yeah."

"What's your name?" the girl with green dragonfly accessories asks.

"Cook."

"Well, my name's Bridgett," the blonde says, holding out her hand for a shake, which she earns from Neilius.

"And I'm Stacie," the brunette says. "Now, tell us your first names."

"You can just call us, Neil and Joe," Neilius says.

"Ah... So is this your first year here, Neil and Joe?" Stacie asks, glancing at her friend.

"No, this is actually our third 'til _graduation_," Neilius emphasizes, bumping fists with Joey. "Then we're off to college or where ever."

"Ah...then you must already have girlfriends and people high up, huh?" Bridgett asks, pouting.

Neilius and Joe look at each other, wondering if they should answer the question honestly or lie. They shrug their shoulders, smirk then look at the girls.

"No, we're free young men on the road to better living," Joe says, motioning his hand. "Women will have to wait until we can make that money."

The bus stops in front of the school parking lot then opens its doors. Alexi and Shaniah leave their seats first then Joey and Neilius leave theirs. They show their gratitude to the bus driver and walk together through the parking lot.

* * *

_The first day of school; it can either be the best day of your academic career or your worst, but my dad and I have some things that can help you start off right. Always try to eat breakfast in the morning. A small snack like a fruit bar, or a meal like toast, bacon and eggs will prevent your morning from being awful from mood swings or processing information for anything. Breakfast also helps you stay awake for some of those boring teachers or lectures. If you're anything like my friend, Alexi, who doesn't eat unless he's really hungry, just eat something small and drink a little bit of juice. You don't need a meal to start your day, but a head start is always good and maintains your health. If you miss breakfast at home, try something from your school's cafeteria. Some kids have had bad experiences with the food itself, but no one said anything about the fruit. Just eat a few slices._

_When preparing for the first day of school, you'd be amazed by how different some of your peers can be. First, there's the materials needed to start your day. Do what my dad says, and don't overstuff your bag. Just keep two pencils, a black pen, a blue pen, a red pen and a highlighter in a pencil case, daily planner or the smaller pouch in your bag so you can get them out at a manageable pace. Chances are your teachers are going to ask for your signature and/or start the lesson early, so make it easier for yourself and have stuff ready. If your teacher gives out an assignment or you think at least one or two might, you might wanna keep a notebook, folder with prongs and paper handy. Avoid bringing huge binders on the first day. Your teachers might hate you, but they're not that insensitive and highly expectant of you. Bring a one-inch binder, or if you want to put less stress on you bring a zipper binder. This way you can store syllabi, start your lessons, and take notes for each class if necessary. Just remember to pack light._

* * *

"Hey, Neil, since we have different homerooms wanna meet up later to see our schedules?" Shaniah asks.

Alexi sits at the stone table and bench under the palm tree then scooches at the end so Shaniah can join him. Neil and Joe sit opposite of them.

"Yeah. If we have the same lunch period, we can meet up there or we can go by your house. It is Niah day," Neil answers, lying on his folded arms.

"I didn't know there was a holiday named after you," Alexi says, furrowing his eyebrows at Shaniah.

"No, Lex!" Shaniah says, giggling and hitting Alexi in his arm. "Every Wednesday, we meet up at my house to talk about stuff; Tuesday is Joe's day and Thursday is Neil's day."

"What about Monday and Friday?" Alexi asks, rubbing his arm.

"We go out," they respond.

"Well, I want a special day," Alexi says, pouting.

"Sure," they answer, shrugging their shoulders.

"Can I have Saturday?" Alexi pipes up, smiling and bouncing.

"Yeah, every...second and third Saturday of the month will be Lex day," Shaniah answers. "Is that okay with you guys?"

"Don't bother me none," Joe says, shrugging and spotting a group of boys walking from the parking lot. "That might, though."

Alexi, Neilius and Shaniah turn to see three boys laughing at a freshmen with an overstuffed bookbag on his back and a strange haircut. Alexi quickly turns around, hoping to go unnoticed but the boys recognize his curly blonde hair and walk towards him and the others. Joey stands up, walks away from the table then signals his friends to run behind him. They heed the signal and run inside a familiar visual arts class, occupied by a teacher drinking a cup of steaming coffee. Neilius and Shaniah greet the confused teacher and calmly sit at the elongated table on one side of the room.

"Hey, Mrs. Goldbloom."

"Why, if it isn't my precious former students!" Mrs. Goldbloom shouts, placing her cup of coffee down. "Coming to visit your old last year's teacher, hm?"

"Yep," Neilius and Shaniah lie, smiling.

"Oh, it feels vionderful to hear yous zey dat!" Mrs. Goldbloom says, gleefully. "T'ere 's an ahrt competition in March for students taking ze ACT und ze SAT that can get yous scholarship money. T'ere 's alzo a greeting card competition before Chrissmas break. Weenahz gets scholarship money and a chanz to have your card mass produced which will earn you anudder check from ze store where your card wuz bought from the most. What do yous zey to dat?"

"Oh, we are in!" Shaniah cheers, nodding at Neilius who also agrees. "Anything counts for university expenses."

"Who you tellin'? I heard that," Joe remarks.

"Vioderful! I shall get yous un flyer," Mrs. Goldbloom says, scurrying to her closet.

"Good thing we got away from the bullies, but how are we gonna get to homeroom from here? We have to walk across the courtyard to the stairs unless we're taking the stairs in the backway," Alexi says.

"Actually, that's a good idea. My homeroom is at the end of the hallway near the stairs," Neilius says.

"Ours too," Shaniah, Joey and Alexi say.

"Sweet!" Neilius comments.

Mrs. Goldbloom returns to the four, dancing and tossing the flyers in the air for them to catch. The bell rings, signaling homeroom to start.

"See ya, Mrs. Goldbloom!" Neilius says.

"Guftvye, my precious ahrt students!"

* * *

_Homeroom, otherwise known as advisory, is normally where you get your schedules, locker number and important information if your counselor or school advisor hasn't already given it to you by email or mail before school starts. My biggest tip for you is keep track of all the main things that go on in your advisory. Number one, don't lose your locker number or your lock. There's a high probability of someone taking your lock or your teacher forgetting the number assigned to you. When either of those happens, buy another lock or ask your teacher for another locker number. Number two, don't lose your schedule. If you have to, write it down in your notebook in case you do lose it; also, write your locker number down once it's given to you. This will prevent trouble later on._

_When classes start on the first day and the teacher gives you a syllabus, make sure you keep track of it in a folder with pockets and/or prongs or binder. Sometimes teachers won't have time to make another copy, and if you lose it you lose a lot of information relating to the class like supplies and the calendar for when projects and assignments are due. The grading rubric is also on the syllabus. If it helps, just copy down the important things on your own calendar and create a simplified grading rubric sheet for yourself as a reminder of what the teacher wants and what counts for a high grade or an average grade. If you list the grading sheet from the average score to the highest, your work will reflect that and keep you motivated to only do your best even if you don't feel it was your greatest. Something else to keep in mind: have everything placed in an orderly the night before to avoid searching for any misplaced items in the morning. You won't have time to look if you're running late._

* * *

**To be continued...**

**A/N: So what do you think about Neilius Bigby's tips? Do they sound like something Ned would say or are they completely useless and should never make another appearance? Think you can guess who Alexi is the son of?**

**There's no need to answer the questions, but if you want to you can either send me a message or review. However, if you like this chapter and the previous one, tell me if I should finish the first chapter or ask questions and the like. I'll be happy to explain anything that seems off and clarify the chapters or answer everything in the next chapter. If you have any suggestions, I'll take them too. Farewell, and much rest to you gents.**


	3. First Day: A New Crush?

Wow, I feel terrible... I haven't written another chapter for this story in... just about ages. Well, as I said before, some of you fans out there may be upset about my story, but I thought I'd be super cool if I could make up a story for the future if Ned and the gang had kids. In light of that, I wanted to introduce a character who will be an important part of the story for Ned's son, Neil. I hope you enjoy this short chapter. I lost most of my story's files, so I have to redevelop what I had planned. Please forgive me for not updating in forever.

* * *

"Okay, class, my name is Mr. Goodenwell. Of course, I've been your homeroom teacher since freshmen year, so there would be no need for introductions. However, there are some new students in class this time due to the change in last name arrangement. Before we had fifteen kids in this class; now, we'll be having twenty-five. Also, at the end of the day, we'll be meeting here again in case there are any requests for changes in your schedule or locker. Any questions on that?"

The teacher adjusted his large glasses and observed any hands raised in the class. No one raised their hand, fortunately, so he had time to catch up on reading and handing out schedules and locker numbers.

"Please, listen out for your name as I call them out alphabetically," the teacher says.

"Excuse me, Mr. Goodenwell," a girl calls.

Some of the class turns to the door, but they can't see the girl speaking to the teacher in a hushed, gentle voice. Neil is just as curious as everyone else, and he can't see anyone by the door with the protruding wall blocking his view. The nerdy, bifocal teacher, Goodenwell, looks to the door and suddenly gets a big, bright smile on his face. It was his favorite night school student! He beckoned her to come forward with a frantic circle of his hand, and in came one of the most beautiful women Neil had ever seen.

The young girl snuck into the classroom with almost stealth-like steps. If she were a ninja assassin, she would have killed Mr. Goodenwell without the class even noticing. Neil was godsmacked and silent at the beauty. She was dressed in a striped blue and white short-sleeved shirt with white denim shorts and blue strap heels. Her legs were long, curvy, and were flattering in the shorts and heels. She was a black girl, too. Her hair was long, wavy, and black. Of course, her eyes were hazel brown and captivating like her warm smile and brown skin.

"Nietzche, how are you?" Goodenwell asked. "Are you gonna be in for night school this year?"

"Yeah, I couldn't come in for homeroom yesterday to pick up my schedule and stuff because I had work. The secretary said to come see you."

_God, she's hot!_ Neil thought.

"Sure, just sit in the empty desk in front of me and sign some papers," Goodenwell says, motioning for the girl, Nietzche, to sit.

Nietzche snuck into the desk in front of Neil and smiled at him before waiting for Goodenwell to hand out schedules. She figured she would be the last person he'd call, so she just sat up with a lovely arch in her back and fiddled with her fingers. Neil wanted to talk to her, but his eyes wouldn't let him. She was what you called a WOOYLP (pronounced "wallop"): that means way out of your league, pal! Some guys behind him started talking about Nietzche and her cute self, but Neil knew that was bound to happen eventually. Nietzche was actually pretty cool about it. She just sat down, took some papers from Mr. Goodenwell, and ignored the gawking guys. Neil just continued to look at Nietzche. For some reason, he felt drawn to her. He couldn't explain why since he had a crush on someone else, but this was a new kind of crush. There were only three types crushes: you like them but you don't know if they like; they like you but you don't like them; finally, the you don't have a chance in this lifetime. Nietzche was that last one by a landslide, but there was still something lingering in his heart about her. Weird!

"Excuse me," Nietzche said, timidly at first. Neil looked into her eyes and nodded. She spoke, "Hey, your eyes are...really pretty - well, you know, for a guy. Do you have a pen I could borrow? This one ran out of ink on me."

"Uh...chitelzunberg..." Neil managed to get out.

"Are you German?" Nietzche asked, eyes brightening up a bit.

_Dammit! Why is it so hard to talk to her? It wasn't even this hard to talk to Monet! _ Neil thought, angrily banging his desk. _Does she have to be so cute? Wait, that's right... She's just another girl like Monet, and Monet's a hottie of this school. Nietzche goes to night school, so I'll never see her again after this. Just act natural. She's a regular girl going to night school. How do I know that? Was I listening that hard?_

"No, I'm half-Greek," Neil answered. "My dad married a Greek model after college. My mom died when I was in middle school from a plane crash."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Nietzche said, sympathetically. "I didn't mean to bring up a bad memory. You just said a word I wasn't familiar with, so I thought you were a foreigner."

"Nah, I was just being a douche," Neil huffed.

"Haha, Big-_douche_-by," an obnoxious jock joked.

"Tch, retards," Nietzche commented, rolling her eyes. "Well, if it helps, my dad died from a plane crash. He was in France after discovering some theory in Algebra was wrong, and when he was coming back, some ducks were caught in the plane's little turbine wheel. It was during the summer. I was so excited that he was able to prove something in the subject he loved. My mom was really happy with it, too. We were planning a trip to New York for the summer, but the plane crash stopped that. Sometimes, I wish he hadn't gone to France to prove that theory, but stuff happens."

"Funny, you should say that," Neil said, furrowing his eyebrows then straightening them again. "My mom died at the exact same time and place. It was in the summer from France. She wasn't proving theories, but she was ending her contract as a model and was planning to start her own business. She went to France to celebrate the contract's end. That summer we were planning to go to the water park to congratulate her new business findings, but she never made it back."

"Really? What flight was it?" Nietzche asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Flight 628 at 1:35 p.m.?"

"Oh my god!" she gasped, eyes widening. "My dad was on that flight! What's your name?"

"Neilius Bigby. What's your name?"

"Nietzche Wormheimer," she answered. "Nietzche comes from a famous philosopher who believed in dualism."

"Wormheimer," Neil repeated, somehow remembering the name from somewhere. He was going to ask his dad about that name after school.

"Are you done with the papers, Nietzche?" Goodenwell asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Nietzche said, nodding. "I was asking for an extra pen."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Neil said, searching through his pencil case. He took out a black pen and handed it to Nietzche.

"Cool, thank you," Nietzche said. "It was really nice talking to you. Hopefully, I'll remember where I heard your name from. I kind of feel bad for not knowing. You seem so sweet."

Neil felt a paper ball being tossed at the back of his head but held his tongue and shook his head. He was not going to look like a psycho in front of a cutie like Nietzche. He said, "Unlike some people I know."

* * *

I'm sorry this chapter was so short. I ran out of ideas to continue the story, and I pull this crap out of my butt. I promise to do better next time. By then, I'll have the tips and other characters redone. I lost my files for this story, and I'm mad. I lost other files, too, though. So it's not just this story that's coming up short. It's a lot of them. Enough of my complaining.

Reviews would be nice, but I'm not forcing you. I just want more than 3 people reading my chapters. At least 20 will make me happy. I'm very grateful for the one review. I want to make a chapter worth reading in that reviewer's honor. She said she was a total NedxMoze fan, so I'll see how to work out a nice chapter for them. Since they're adults in this story, I'm sure I can come up with something awesome... I'll let your imagination fill in the blanks on that.


	4. First Day: Mishaps

Niah was waiting for Neil and Joe on her way to the school's cafeteria for lunch that day. She was anxious to know her best friends' schedules so they could have at least one class together junior year in Commead Irons High School since she knew for sure their last year in school would be just them and whoever else decided to join. As she passed through the bustling crowd of students to get in one of the lines for lunch, a tall, muscular goth-looking kid jostled his way through the hungry prowlers also. Following behind him was a cute black girl who was hanging onto the kid's leather jacket as they passed through. They made an interesting couple at first glance; total opposites in every way! They were also the only students wearing regular clothes. Everyone else wore their uniforms.

Niah continued to watch the couple shuffle through the kids until they found their clique. Other students who were just as good-looking as the two opposites were greeting them and they were all wearing regular clothes. Under her breath, Niah kind of thought the goth kid was hot, and she usually wasn't in to that kind of character. The kid was really good-looking and a rugged biker boy, but he was dating someone who seemed generally sweet and helpless behind his strength. However, you should never judge any book by its cover.

"Hey, don't space out, Mosley!" someone called.

Niah looked in front of her and noticed the line was completely cleared up and it was obviously her turn. Man, those kids were quick to order! She ran up to the cafeteria server and got her plate of food.

_That was embarrassing_, Niah thought as she hustled out of the way to a table.

"Hey, Niah!" a familiar voice called.

Niah turned to the general direction of the voice and saw Joe sitting down and chomping on a slice of pepperoni pizza. He was waving his hand to beckon her closer to him and pointed to an empty seat in front of him. She walked to the table, smiling, then sat down in front of him. She had a steaming burger wrapped in aluminum foil that she decided to eat last as she placed a fry between her lips and took her phone out. She sent a text to Neil's phone then put the device away.

"So, what's your schedule looking like?" Niah asked, chewing the fry.

"I got a driver's elective for third period. If I pass, this summer I'll be able to test for a license," Joe said, fist pumping.

"Right on," Niah responded, arching her eyebrows in surprise. "Hey, did you see this really tall goth kid walking around with a girl on his back?"

"Who, Royce?" Joe clarified.

"You know who he is?" Niah questioned, no longer eating her fries.

"Yeah, Royce Steel. He used to go to night school here," Joe answered, drinking his soda. "I had him in my geometry and music class freshman year. He stopped taking daytime classes once he started sophomore year. I don't know what his schedule is looking like this year. Was he in uniform?"

"Nope, just denim and leather," Niah answered, nodding and somewhat grinning.

"Chances are he might have night classes this year," Joe answers, taking a bite out of his pizza.

"Was he always - uh...you know..."

"Scary?" Joe finished, eyes widening a bit in his own fear. He nodded rapidly then said, "Hell yeah. He ain't scary for show neither. Some guys tried to fight him in geometry and he got suspended for beating them up even though the guys started it. When he came back, he never forgave 'em."

A group of sophomore bullies bump into Royce after backing up from their own jostling. They turn around, noticing Nietzche and some other cute girls, and start to tease and play around. One of the bullies is wearing a thinly-chained shirt and pants with a light Avenged Sevenfold jacket. He crept closer to Nietzche as she ignored him.

"Hey, don't try to score with that wi - " the bully starts, slowly silencing himself as Royce stood several inches above him with a daunting presence. The bully shivers then backs away from Royce in shuffling steps saying, "Oh, i-i-i-i-i-it's Royce. S-s-ss-s-sorry, man, we were just on our way to lunch. Right, guys?"

"Uh-huh," the other boys agree, running from Royce in an impressive speed.

"Nice job, man," Nietzche congratulates, smiling brightly.

"He's the bullies' bully in this school," Joe finishes, watching Royce sit next to his supporter. "The perfect anti-hero. He protects weaker kids but scares them off in the process. I don't think he has any friends in this school because of that. If he does, he has very few."

"What about the girl that was clinging to him?" Niah asked, turning to the table Royce was sitting in. The girl was still next to him, and they were talking to each other like normal friends would. Royce had to be friendly underneath all that black and creepiness. He said something to one of the shy, cute girls that made everyone at the table laugh. Niah furrowed her eyebrows, wanting to know what they were all talking about and said, "He doesn't seem scary to them."

"Actually, that's the first time I've ever seen that table period. Especially the girl next to him," Joe said, standing up to look at Royce and this pretty black girl. "She's pretty cute, though. I think that whole table takes night classes. They're the only ones in regular clothes. Wait a minute!" Niah looked back at Joe with a wondering glance until he pointed at her accusingly with a raised eyebrow and said, "Why do you wanna know about Royce?"

"He seems like a nice guy," Niah responded. "Tall, dark, and scary, but he's been watching that girl's back like they were besties stranded on a savage island. I was just curious."

"Sure that's the whole truth?" Joe accuses, narrowing his gaze at the blue-eyed brunette. "I know you, Shaniah Roberta Olsen-Mosely. You're falling for him, aren't you?"

"Wha - ? No! I just saw him today!" Niah countered.

"Saw who?" Neil asked, scaring the friends from his sudden appearance. "What?"

"You scared the shit outta me!" Niah argued, punching Neil's arm harshly.

"Fine, I'm leaving you then," Neil said, about to stand up and walk elsewhere. He then felt the pain of Niah's hits on his arm and touched it tenderly before saying, "Ow."

Joe chuckled then said, "Weak."

"No! No, it's okay," Niah said, rubbing Neil's arm. "I was just surprised."

"And admitting she fell in love with Royce," Joe added, earning a shocked gasp from Neil. Apparently, everyone knew Royce except her. He said, "At first glance, too."

"I did not!" Niah snapped. "I just saw him walking around with a girl clinging to his jacket. I wanted to know who he was. He seemed nice."

"Nice?" Neil questioned. "That thing broke someone's jaw in half and had battery charges dropped out of self-defense during his first year here and you think that he's nice?"

"He was defending himself from those insecure bastards who pick on people for no reason," Niah defended. "He was brave enough to put them in their place at the very least. And if he's the bully of the bullies, he should be thanked rather than feared. I mean," Niah started, turning around to nod at Royce and his table, "that girl over there invited him to her table."

"Tch," Neil scoffed quietly, turning back to his plate of food. "That's because she's really sweet and doesn't care about what others think."

"You know her?" Joe asked, staring into her friend's face. He was different than before. This wasn't the same vibe he got from Neil when he had a crush on Monet. Monet was the sweetest girl in school and lovable, but Neil sounded like he was saying she wasn't anymore. In fact, he was oddly quiet. Joe said, "Who is she?"

"Nietzche Wormheimer," Neil answered, turning to the table with Nietzche and Royce. "I met her in homeroom. She's Goodenhall's night school student. Some guys were hitting on her before we left, and she flat-out rejected them. Called 'em fuckers and walked off. Goodenhall got a nice laugh from that."

"Wait, did you say Wormheimer?" Joe questioned, earning a nod from Neil. "My dad went to Albert Wormheimer's funeral over the summer. I think it was right after your mom's."

"Right after? How long after?" Neil asked, beginning to remember the name.

"About two weeks after hers. No, I lied. It was a week after. I remember dad saying he didn't want to tell Uncle Ned because it'd be too much for him. Albert was my dad's co-worker at the computer plant, and him and his wife went to middle school with Uncle Ned, Tee Mose, and my daddy."

"That's where I heard that name from!" Neil said, shaking his finger at Joe. "Nietzche's dad and my mom were on the same plane when it crashed during the summer. She told me in homeroom!"

"That's weird," Niah commented. "I'd of never thought I'd meet someone who lost their dad in the same plane crash my mom was in. Did she give you her number to stay in touch?"

"No, she just said her name and that she remembered my name from somewhere," Neil said, drinking his juice. "She might've come across my dad's name when someone wrote the funeral invites and when she met me the name clicked."

"Dude, you should totally get her number," Niah said. "You have Monet's."

Neil sighed, fantasizing about his crush, Monet Loomer. He looked to the ceiling and said, "Yeah, and we have Theatre together after lunch. We've only got one more year until this crush becomes extinct forever in college because there's more women, more opportunities, and hopefully no more bullies that follow you after high school because that would suck and so could your future. But this year... This year I'm gonna talk to her and we're gonna go on at least one date or…"

"Or?" Niah prompted.

"…I haven't thought that far," Neil said, banging a fist against the table.

"Well, let's see your schedule instead," Joe suggests, rummaging through Niah's book bag and reading her schedule. "Wow, we get to suffer Algebra II together for seventh period. Let's see yours, dude."

"Ah, I really don't think that's a good idea," Neil stalls, suddenly being choked by Niah and having his schedule found by Joe.

"We don't have any classes together!" Joe declared in an almost questioning tone.

Niah gasped, snatched the paper, and then turned to Neil, "Wha – you promised we'd have one class together this year! What, got cold feet?"

"No, I just wanted to make new friends and get closer to Monet at the same time. It's like the rule of the new year in the guide," Neil explained. "Besides, we've got lunch together."

"We agreed to be together for a period other than lunch!" Niah hissed, pulling Neil's ear.

"Alright, ya sadistic looney tune!" Neil shouted, prying his ear out of Niah's abusive grasp. "If I had any doubt in my mind about not having a class together, I've got enough sense to know now. I'm keeping my schedule the way it is and if either one of you follow me I am going to strip you both naked and leave you in the mall until closing time!"

With that, Neil took his lunch, dumped the remains, and stormed out of the cafeteria. Joe and Niah looked at each other, nodded, and ate whatever was left of their lunch savagely before rushing to Joe's locker. Inside of Joe's locker was an iPAD touch screen, applicable keyboard, and several circuits donated by his father, Cookie. The apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

"Okay, you know what to do," Niah said, slapping Joe's back.

Joe turned to the brunette and said, "Actually, I was hoping you'd tell me."

Niah rolled her eyes then said, "Look up Monet's schedule and compare hers with Neil's. If we find out what classes they have together and switch it up a bit, Neil will be with us rather than that heartbreaking prom queen."

"Right," Joe agreed, swiftly typing to enter the school's main server. He found the two schedules in a few seconds and compared them. Once he found the classes where Neil and Monet, he furrowed his eyebrows and said, "They only have one class together and that's Theatre I."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Try comparing mine with hers," Niah suggested. Joe compared the two and showed her the results. She skimmed through them and said, "I have four classes with her!"

"Calm down, calm down. I'm sure you can reschedule some of them and let Neil take the ones you don't want."

"That's what we're trying to prevent!" Niah snapped.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Joe shouted, looking through the list for available classes. "Well, there's not much to actually change. Neil likes acting and is really good at it, and Monet's not even - uh-oh..."

"What do you mean 'uh-oh'? I don't like that 'uh-oh.' That's the sound of last-minute changes 'uh-oh.' What's happening?"

"Monet's switching two of the classes she has with you and exchanging them for classes with Neil," Joe warned.

"Well, stop her! You're the techno-genius," Niah reminded, slapping Joe's arm. The muscles in his arms were hardening quite well since he started working out again.

"Alright, already, will you just chill?" Joe suggested, waving a calm hand. "All I have to do is get into the system for ten seconds and then - "

"Hey, look out!" a jock called, after throwing a football in the hallway. The ball hit Joe in the back of the neck, making him drop his iPAD into a passing janitor's mop bucket, and bounced away. The principal practically towered over the foolish jock and pulled him into his office by the ear with a scowl.

"Ooo, that doesn't look too good," the janitor commented, watching Joe kneel over the mop bucket. Joe, not remembering what happens with electronics and water when the two forces mix, reached into the bucket and was immediately shocked into temporary unconsciousness. Niah screamed then shook Joe a couple of times. The janitor rolled the mop bucket away from everyone and tried to help Niah wake Joe from his injury.


End file.
